Today we gave out A Level results to Year 13, a small group of young ladies with remarkably diverse talents. We are delighted that this this year we achieved a 100% pass rate at A Level, an improvement on last year, and we congratulate all of our candidates on their hard work and achievement – not only those gaining the coveted A* grades. This year’s cohort includes sportswomen and scientists, potential lawyers and linguists – and one student who is determined to help disabled people by specialising in prosthetic engineering, an unusual but laudable choice of career path.

That all of our girls are able to aspire to such higher education choices is a testament to the support they receive at HOHS in selecting appropriate courses and in completing their application form (including the all-important personal statement)and to the detailed references provided by the school in support of candidates. This year the applications have been bolstered for some active girls by their achieving their Sports Leaders Level 3 qualification, worth a valuable 30 UCAS points towards admission to chosen courses. The EPQ, a project-based qualification much valued by university tutors for its focus on independent research, has also been a popular choice of qualification, with achievement again reaching A* level.

These results are a fitting reward for all the hard work of the candidates and their teachers (not forgetting the support of parents!) resulting in almost two-thirds of passes this year at the higher grades A* – C, and almost a third gaining A* to B.

We wish all of our girls well as they embark on the next stage of their education, confident they will make a real contribution to tomorrow’s world as compassionate, committed and well-educated citizens.